A 100 word a day commitment… occasionally revisited

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Day #42 -Dear Me: 1st Day Teacher

Monday of Teacher Appreciation Week and a fellow teacher posted the video from Soul Pancake and Edutopia with the following explanation:

In honor of teacher appreciation week, SoulPancake and Edutopia asked teachers to write a letter to themselves on their first day teaching. What teacher do you appreciate? Share this video with them to let them know #TeachersMatter!

So, I thought I would write a letter to myself on my first day.

Dear Mrs. Bennett:

I am you, 22 years later. I thought I should take this chance to prepare you for your teaching career, from grades 6 through grade 12 with a few pieces of advice:

1. Resist the urge to collect; not everything needs to be graded.

2. Wait time is important; silence can work to your advantage in any classroom situation.

3. The apple does not fall far from the tree; meeting the parent explains a great deal of a student’s behavior.

4. Data is important to measure student understanding; student trust is a measure of your understanding.

5. Books must be available to be placed in a student’s hands; reading is critical to student success.

Be ready for a career full of young adult literature, commas, 5 paragraph essays, reader’s theatre, quizzes, SSR, literature circles, thesis statements, active voice, peer editing, and Shakespeare. Enjoy the teacher camaraderie in the greatest profession in the world. Enjoy the students, they are what makes every day so amazing. And accept that you will have a clean desk someday….in June.
Best wishes,